Qualifications

• Although qualifications vary depending on the state, virtually all states require executors to reach the age of legal adulthood. The probate codes of most states prohibit anyone convicted of a felony in the United States or any of its territories from appointment as executor. Other qualifications include U.S. citizenship or permanent legal resident status. Some states require the executor -- or personal representative, as the office is called in many states -- to be a state resident. Certain states allow an exception to this requirement if the executor named in the will is a relative of the decedent, and other states allow an out-of-state resident to serve as executor if the probate clerk of the county in which the decedent resided or another county resident agrees to act as the executor's agent. This is usually a formality in which the agent receives official court correspondence and passes it on to the executor -- hence the reason states permit probate clerks to serve as agents.
  
  

Character Issue

• Even if other qualifications are met, some state probate statutes allow the court to disqualify a potential executor on the basis of bad moral character. This issue generally results from a petition filed with the court by interested parties to the estate -- heirs, beneficiaries and creditors -- asking the court not to appoint an individual because of character problems. The court must hear any evidence provided by the petitioner to make a decision in these cases.
  
  

Mental Competence

• Most state probate statutes also specify that the executor or personal representative is mentally competent to assume the position, sometimes using the phrasing "of sound mind." While it is unlikely a testator would deliberately assign the position of personal representative to a mentally incompetent person, a person's mental status may change from the time a will is written until the testator dies. If interested parties to the estate have questions about an executor's mental competence, they may file a petition in this regard with the court.
  
  

Executor Duties

• An executor has various duties in the role of estate administrator. He must serve notice to creditor, settle any claims against the estate, pay all debts out of the estate's assets, and file both estate tax returns and the decedent's final tax returns, paying any taxes due. The executor must inventory all of the decedent's real estate and tangible personal property within the time frame required by the estate, and establish the value at the time of death. When the estate accounting is complete, he must pass remaining assets on to the decedent's designated heirs and beneficiaries.